Everyone Is Mocking One Quote From Argentina's Economy Minister

On Wednesday Argentine Economy Minister Axel Kicillof was in New
York City, telling the world that his country had gone into
default for the second time in a little over a decade.

On Thursday he was back home, explaining to the Argentine people
what it was like dealing with Daniel Pollack, the man appointed
by the U.S. Court to mediate between Kicillof's delegation, and
the hedge fund creditors — known collectively as NML Capital — to
which Argentina owes over $1.3 billion.

"Statements by Pollack seem like a manual on how to harm
Argentina," said Kicillof. "He's tougher than S&P."

Perhaps Kicillof is right, Standard and Poors called Argentina's
failure to pay a "selective default," Pollack called it a
"technical default."

We're learning that there is a difference.

We're also learning that Argentine Twitter has an incredible
sense of humor about this whole disaster.

Kicillof is a Marxist professor who drives a 2008 Renault an
years ago, as a junior minister, master minded the government
takeover of the Argentine subsidiary of Spanish oil and gas
company, Repsol.

His political ideology has never been a secret. It's just that
now that the country is in its current precarious situation,
Argentines have even more reason to unleash their since of humor
on Kicillof and his policies.

So none of Kicillof's hyperbole should be a surprise to anyone,
though both Twitter and the media at-large seem to be amused by
the way he characterised the idea that Agrenting was in default.
Kicillof said it was "atomic" crap.

He reiterated that the country could not negotiate without
the Court granting a stay on payment, effectively taking the risk
of default off until 2015 when The Republic could pay without
violating the RUFO clause — a clause that would entitle more
bondholders to the same 100 cent on the dollar payout as NML.

He said he was open to more talks, but would not be in New
York City for the meeting Judge Thomas Griesa called for Friday.
Cleary Gottlieb, Argentina's lawyers, would be present.

Kicillof also suggestively said that he found out that Pollack
had been a colleague of NML's lawyers.